Anti-Terrorism

British airports and nuclear power plants have been ordered to tighten security over fears terrorist hackers could have found a way to bypass electronic safety checks.

Over the last 24 hours, spies have given a series of warnings terrorists might have discovered means of bypassing scanners in airports and security at nuclear facilities.

There are fears Islamic State terrorists could put bombs in mobile phones and laptops that would not be picked up by screening, The Sunday Telegraph reported.

This is believed to be the reason behind the USA and Britain’s ban on travellers carrying laptops and large electronic devices from six countries. Security officials are also concerned terrorists, spies or ‘hacktivists’ are looking for ways to take advantage of ‘vulnerabilities’ at nuclear power stations

The ban on laptops on British-bound travellers covers all direct flights from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia.

Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu has said Turkey could send 15,000 refugees to Europe to shock the Europeans following a recent diplomatic crisis between Ankara and Germany and the Netherlands, according to HürriyetDaily News.

‘’We have a readmission deal. I’m telling you Europe, do you have that courage? If you want, we will send the 15,000 refugees to you that we don’t send each month and blow your mind. You have to keep in mind that you cannot design a game in this region in spite of Turkey’’, said the Turkish Interior Minister during an event on March, 16, referring to a readmission deal between the EU and Turkey to return migrants to Turkey who have illegally crossed the Aegean Sea to Greece,

As part of the agreement, Greek officials are obliged to return refugees trying to reach Western European countries vie Greece and return them to Turkey.

He also said the Turkish Republic was in its strongest period and that “some people can’t handle it,” adding that per capita income had increased during this period.

During his speech, Soylu said the constitutional amendments would bring a system that “doesn’t produce words, but actions.”

The emergency center in Sliven was evacuated because of a false report of a bomb. A 28-year-old man was detained by the police for submitting the malicious anonymous report, the press center of Sliven Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior announced.

The man who sent the report was a man with initials B.N., aged 28, from Sliven. He told the authorities that he sent the malicious report because the hospital refused him treatment.

In order to clarify the circumstances of the case and to determine the man’s medical condition, expert opinion will be sought.

A Turkish minister has claimed ‘’holy wars will soon begin’’ in Europe, in spite of the defeat of far-right leader Geert Wilders in the Netherlands elections. Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu did not welcome the victory for Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s centre-right People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD).

‘’Now the election is over in the Netherlands. When you look at the many parties you see there is no difference between the social democrats and fascist Wilders’’, he said according to Hürriyet Daily News.

“All have the same mentality. Where will you go? Where are you taking Europe? You have begun to collapse Europe. You are dragging Europe into the abyss. Holy wars will soon begin in Europe.

”Mr Wilders attempted to capitalise on an ongoing diplomatic row between the Netherlands and Turkey during his election campaign, leading a small protest outside the country’s embassy and calling Mr Erdogan a “dictator”.

The mastermind behind the planned attack on a shopping center in the west German city of Essen is linked to Islamic State terrorist, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said in an interview with German broadcaster ARD.

‘’There is a clear link to the so-called Islamic State, to this terrorist organization’’, the minister said during an appearance on ARD’s ‘’Report from Berlin’’ show.

He added that the planned attack was successfully prevented.German police earlier detained two man as part of the investigation into the possible attack on the shopping mall.

According to German newspaper, the chief organizer of the planned attack is from town Oberhausen. It is assumed that 24-year-old man traveled to Syria in April,2015 to support the group of Islamic State.

Turkish authorities have arrested two Chinese citizens in relation to the mass shooting at a night club in Istanbul on New Year’s Eve, reported BGNES.

The detainees are Uyghurs – a Turkic ethnic group in northwest China.The authorities reckon that the detainees are members of Islamic state. They were arrested on charges of being members of a terrorist organisation, the purchase of illegal weapons and being accomplices in the murder of 39 people.

The person who carried out the crime is still at large. The authorities think that he is also an Uyghur.

At least 35 people have been detained so far in relation to the attack.

Anis Amri who ran over 12 people with a truck at a Christmas bazaar in Berlin, crossed Brussels while fleeing the crime scene, reported Belgium’s Prosecutor’s Office, reported BNR.

Amri was recognised from video tapes on the Northern railway station in the Belgian capital.The suspect showed up on the video surveillance tapes on the night of December 21 – two days after the attack. Amri stayed in Brussels for about two hours. It is yet to be discovered whether he was in touch with someone.

According to the information, the terrorist arrived to Brussels from Amsterdam. After that, he moved from France onto Italy and got shot by the police during a routine inspection.

Somehow, Amri managed to get though Holland, Belgium, France and Italy, while still carrying the gun, which he used to kill the driver of the truck used in the attack in Berlin.

AID aims to help the public save lives before the professionals arrivePeople need to learn lifesaving skills in case they are caught up in a terror attack in the UK, a team of senior military and civilian medics has said.

They say people need to know how to help each other because it could take some time before it is deemed safe for paramedics to arrive on the scene.Their app, called CitizenAID, offers step-by-step advice.

Although an individual’s chance of being caught up in an incident is small, Brig Tim Hodgetts and Prof Sir Keith Porter, co-developers of CitizenAID, say it is a good idea for people to have a plan and the knowledge and skills to help each other.

Their app, pocket book and website suggest how best to deal with injuries in the immediate aftermath of a mass shooting or bombing incident.

The system includes instructions on how to treat severe bleeding – one of the major causes of death in these scenarios.It guides people through packing, putting pressure on and elevating a wound, and how to use a tourniquet safely, for example.

The programme also explains how to prioritise those who need treatment first and what to tell the emergency services once they arrive.

CitizenAID is not a government initiative but its developers say it builds on national advice from national counter-terrorism police to: Run away in the event of an incident if you canHide if you can’t runTell the emergency services.

The system describes how to make a tourniquet out of a scarf to help stop bleeding

Battlefield lessonsThe CitizenAID system says people should follow these steps and then go one step further. It suggests once people are safe, they should start treating casualties.

Ch Insp Richard Harding, head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, told the BBC: “One of the challenges we have is that when a serious incident, particularly a terrorist incident occurs, the first responders from a police perspective to a terrorist incident will inevitably be trying to deal with the people causing the threat.

“They won’t have time to deal with the people who are injured and that gap is vital to saving people’s lives.

“So we are really interested in the concept of CitizenAID. It allows the public and people involved in very rare incidents like this to help themselves and help others and their loved ones survive the situation.”

According to its founders, CitizenAID builds on lessons learnt on the battlefield.Sir Keith Porter, professor of clinical traumatology at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, told the BBC: “I have treated hundreds of soldiers whose lives have been saved by simply the applications of tourniquets when they have been shot or blown up. Teaching individual soldiers these skills has saved lives.”And I think it is essential we train the public in those skills and that is exactly what CitizenAID does.”‘

Right decisions’Brig Tim Hodgetts, medical director of the Defence Medical Services, told the BBC; “We don’t know when the next incident will be that will involve blasts or gunshots so we need a critical mass of the general public to learn these first aid skills.”They are the people who are always going to be at the scene. They are the ones who are going to make a difference.”He added: “I think we are doing the opposite of scaring the public, we are empowering the public.

”By giving them a step-by-step system we take away the anxiety because the decisions are already made and the right decisions in the right order can save lives.

“The app is free to download and the pocketbook costs £1.99 to order.

Sue Killen, of St John Ambulance, added “First aid can be the difference between life and death. Knowing basic first aid in a terror attack or in an everyday emergency at home or in the community, will give you more confidence to deal with a crisis.

“First aid is easy to learn and our first aid techniques cover a wide range of injuries that could occur in a terrorist incident including severe bleeding, crush injuries and shock.

“We encourage anyone who would like to learn first aid to go to our website to view our first aid videos, download our app or attend a first aid course.”

Turkish police have sealed off roads into Bulgaria, fearing the gunman who killed 39 and wounded dozens in a nightclub in Istanbul might escape, the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) says.

Specialized squads have been deployed along roads leading into and out of Kırklareli (known in Bulgaria as Lozengrad), near the border with Bulgaria, with everyone entering or leaving the town undergoing strict inspection.

Anti-terror units are also based in the region, BTA reports, citing Turrkey’s Haberler. Additional police and riot police forces have been dispatched to the Dereköy – Malko Tarnovo border crossing to bolster security.

Earlier, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said the attacker had been identified, but did not give details.

Turkey’s Deputy PM Numan Kurtulmus said on Tuesday the state of emergency in force since July would be extended by three months.

The measure will be applied as of January 19 if approved by Parliament, he added. Kurtulmuş cited as a reason the presence of members of US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen’s movement, which Turkey sees as a terrorist organization dubbed FETÖ and blames for the July 15 failed coup attempt. The state of emergency can be declared for a maximum period of six months, but can also be extended upon consideration.

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